Teesta water share not possible without nod of West Bengal Govt: Sushma Swaraj

Rtv online desk

| 28 May 2018, 00:00 | Update : 28 May 2018, 22:42

The government of India strongly favors resolution of Teesta water share issue with Bangladesh but no feasible solution is possible without taking West Bengal government, a key stake holder, on board, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in New Delhi on Monday.
‘No resolution is possible without taking all stake holders on board. No solution cannot be achieved merely by the two central governments-the government of India and the government of Bangladesh.
West Bengal government is a key stake holder and therefore we try to talk to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on this’- Swaraj told reporters in New Delhi.
In 2017 when Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was in India, Mamata had offered an alternative formula wherein water can be supplied to Bangladesh from three other rivers and not from Teesta, she said.
Hydrology experts are still studying the feasibility of Mamata’s alternative proposal and are yet to submit a report on it, Sushma said.
She said, the federal Indian government cannot bypass the West Bengal government as it is the state which has to share the Teesta waters and has to weigh pros and cons of how much it will be affected by the proposed deal.
‘So, West Bengal and Chief Minister Mamataji have a role to play in this, which the central government cannot overlook,’ the Indian External Affairs Minister remarked.
Source: UNI
AH